SALFORD HUNDRED 



MIDDLETON 



cUewich in Cheshire. Soon afterwards he took part 

 in the siege of Lathom, and fought at Preston and 

 Appleby with greater success. 63 He died 17 February 

 1650-1, and was buried at Middleton, where there 

 is a memorial brass commemorating him and his wife 

 Elizabeth, daughter of John Kay. 64 



The eldest son, Richard, having died in infancy, 

 by witchcraft as it was supposed, 65 the new lord of 

 Middleton was Ralph Assheton, the second son. Like 

 others of his father's party he welcomed the restora- 

 tion of the monarchy and was created a baronet in 

 I66O. 66 He died five years later, 67 and was succeeded 

 by his son Ralph, the second baronet, who enjoyed 

 the estates for fifty years, dying in 1 7 1 6. M He had 

 succeeded to the Whalley Abbey estate in 1697, in 

 right of his mother. He represented Liverpool in 

 Parliament in 1676, and was knight of the shire, as a 

 Whig, from 1694 to idgS. 69 Having no son he was 

 succeeded in the baronetcy and at Middleton by his 

 nephew Ralph, son of his brother Richard. This Sir 

 Ralph 70 died in 1765, leaving two daughters as co- 

 heirs, and the baronetcy became extinct. 71 Mary, the 

 elder daughter, married Harbord Harbord, afterwards 

 Lord Suffield, and had Middleton Manor with her 

 moiety of the estate ; Eleanor, the younger daughter, 

 married Sir Thomas Egerton, afterwards Lord Grey 

 de Wilton, and received the manor of Radcliffe." 



The manor and estates re- 

 mained in the Harbord family 

 for the greater part of a cen- 

 tury. 73 They were about 1 848 

 sold by Lord Suffield to Peto 

 and Betts, great railway con- 

 tractors, 74 and on their bank- 

 ruptcy in 1861 were disposed 

 of to various persons. 75 William 

 Wagstaffe acquired the lord- 

 ship of the manor and the 

 advowson, with a considerable 

 share of the land, and about 

 1880 Mr. Alfred Butterworth 

 of Werneth purchased them. 76 



Middleton Hall was situated a little to the south 

 of the church, and was pulled down in 1845, a cotton 

 factory being built on the site. An account of the 

 house written immediately before its demolition 

 describes it as an ancient structure erected at different 

 periods, the oldest part being of timber and plaster, 

 with later additions in stone. A south front, which 

 was of brick, was added at the beginning of the I gth 

 century by the first Lord Suffield. The house con- 

 tained some good panelling and plaster ceilings, and 

 a large stone chimneypiece with the date 1587." 

 The original timber house is said to have been built 



HARBORD, Lord Suf- 

 field. Quarterly azure 

 and gules a king's crown 

 or bet-ween four lions ram- 

 pant argent. 



68 The following references are from 

 Ormerod's Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.) : 

 p. 2 Deputy-Lieutenant, 1642 ; p. 16 

 prevented the King's Commissioners from 

 seizing the powder in Manchester, June 

 1642; pp. 51, 333 sent 150 of his 

 Middleton tenants in complete arms to de- 

 fend Manchester, where they behaved very 

 steadily, Sept. 1642 ; p. 62 was allowed 

 a ' small brass piece ' for the defence of 

 his house, Nov. 1642 ; p. 81 Colonel in 

 command of the 500 troops who guarded 

 Eolton against the attacks of Lord Derby's 

 troops, Feb. 16423 ; p. 87 relieved Lan- 

 caster, Mar. 1643 ; p. 90 appointed on 

 the committee for 'sequestering notorious 

 delinquents' estates,' I Apr. 1643 ; pp. 

 95-8 defeated Lord Derby at Whalley, 

 Apr. 1643 ; p. 98 the ' brave and victori- 

 ous Colonel Assheton' drove the Royalists 

 out of Wigan, 22 Apr. 1643 ; pp. 104-6 

 captured Liverpool, Hornby, and Thur- 

 land, May and June 1643 ; p. 153 

 surprised and overpowered by Lord Byron 

 near Middlewich, Dec. 1643; p. 154 

 took part a few days later in the relief of 

 Nantwich, being particularly praised by 

 Fairfax; pp. 162-85 took part in the 

 first siege of Lathom, Feb. to May 1644 ; 

 p. 252 commanded the Lancashire forces 

 against the Duke of Hamilton, June 1648 ; 

 p. 261 he and his men highly praised by 

 Cromwell for their gallantry in the fight 

 at Preston, Aug. 1648 ; p. 274 relieved 

 Cockermouth and took Appleby, Oct. 

 1648 ; p. 277 his disbanded troops mu- 

 tinied at Clitheroe, Mar. 1649. Colonel 

 Assheton is frequently mentioned in the 

 Lanes. War (Chet. Soc.) ; in particular are 

 described his activity and success in clear- 

 ing the county of Lord Derby and his 

 men in the spring of 1643 (pp. 37-40). 

 Some of his letters, dated 1645, are 

 printed in Whitaker's Wballey, ii, 153, 

 154; one sentence is not complimentary 

 to the other leading Parliamentarians of 

 the county: 'If Stanley, Booth, Hoi- 

 croft, Egerton, and such like must be 

 applauded and chiefly observed, I will not 

 only stay here but send for my son to come 

 to me, for I scorn that he shall receive 



orders from them.' The same conscious- 

 ness of his own importance is manifest 

 on the spirited brass in the church. 



64 Thornely, Brasses, 291. 



65 Whitaker, W 'bailey, ii, 152; one 

 Utley was for it executed at Lancaster 

 Assizes. Richard son of Ralph Assheton, 

 esq., was buried at Middleton 27 Mar. 

 1630. John another son is said to have 

 retired to France after the execution of 

 Charles I, and to have died there. 



66 G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, iii, 113. 

 He married Anne daughter of Sir Ralph 

 Assheton of Whalley, and recorded a pedi- 

 gree in 1664 ; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 

 14. 



A settlement of the family manors was 

 made in 1650 by Ralph Assheton and 

 Elizabeth Assheton, widow ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 148, m. 119. 



67 He was buried at Middleton 2 May 

 1665. His funeral is described in Lanes, 

 and Ches. Hist, and Gen. Notes, iii, 67. 



68 He died 4 May and was buried 

 10 May 1716 at Middleton, where there 

 is a monument. Two daughters and co- 

 heirs were married at Middleton within 

 twelve months Katherine on 27 Nov. 

 to Thomas Lister of Arnold Biggin, 

 Yorkshire ; and Mary on 19 Feb. 

 to Nathaniel Curzon of Kedleston. A 

 grandson of the former daughter, Thomas 

 Lister, was created Lord Ribblesdale in 

 1797 ; the elder son of the latter daughter, 

 Nathaniel, was created Lord Scarsdale in 

 1761, and the younger, Assheton, was 

 created Viscount Curzon in 1802. The 

 other daughter and co-heir Anne married 

 Humphrey Trafford ; from her are de- 

 scended the Vavasours of Spaldington. 



69 Pink and Beaven, op. cit, 191, 80. 



70 Settlements of the manor were made 

 by Sir Ralph Assheton in 1721 and again 

 in 1739; PaL of Lane. Plea R. 512, 

 m. 3 ; 548, m. 4. 



7 1 There is a monument to him in the 

 church, erected by his daughters ; also to 

 his widow Eleanor, 'who closed a most 

 exemplary life of piety and charity ' on 

 25 Mar. 1793. 



72 By fine in Mar. 1776 a settlement 



I6 7 



was made by Harbord Harbord and Mary 

 his wife of a moiety of the manors of 

 Middleton and Radcliffe (or Radcliffe 

 Tower), and a moiety of 220 messuages, 

 three water-mills, a fulling-mill, gardens, 

 lands, rents, and views of frankpledge in 

 Middleton, Pilsworth, Thornham, Ains- 

 worth, Great Lever, Little Lever, Birtle 

 with Hopwood, Prestwich, &c., also of the 

 advowsons of Middleton and Radcliffe ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 375, 

 m. 153. In 1779 the duchy received a 

 rent of i us. \od. for Middleton from 

 Harbord Harbord ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Rentals, bdle. 14, no. 25 m. 



The other moiety of the estate was in 

 1771 settled by Sir Thomas Egerton and 

 Eleanor his wife ; ibid. bdle. 385, m. 246. 



78 The land tax returns of 1787 show 

 that Lord Suffield owned practically all 

 the land, except Langley ; returns at 

 Preston. For the pedigree see G.E.C. 

 Complete Peerage, vii, 299. Sir Harbord 

 Harbord (formerly Morden), 2nd baronet 

 of Gunton, Norfolk, was created Lord 

 Suffield in 1786 and died in 1810. His 

 son William Assheton Harbord succeeded, 

 but died in 1821 without issue, when a 

 younger brother, Edward Harbord,followed. 

 ' His lordship frequently visited Middle- 

 ton, and occasionally manifested a kind 

 regard to the indigent of the place ' ; 

 E. Butterworth, Middleton, 18. He died 

 in 1835 from injuries sustained by falling 

 from his horse on Constitution Hill. His 

 son Edward Vernon Harbord succeeded, 

 and being without issue sold the Lanca- 

 shire manors and estates. 



There was a recovery of the manor ia 

 1814, Lord Suffield and Edward Harbord 

 being vouchees ; Pal. of Lane. Assize R. 

 7, Lent 54 Geo. Ill, rot. 12. 



74 Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1868), i, 469. 

 Some half-dozen Middleton deeds in the 

 possession of Sir S. Morton Peto, bart., 

 were transcribed by Canon Raines in 

 1855 ; see hisMSS. (Chet Lib.), xxxi, 57. 



75 Baines, ut sup. 



76 Ibid. (ed. Croston), ii, 410. 



77 Rev. T. Corser's notes to James's 

 Iter Lancastrense (Chet. Soc. vii), 31. 



